Dropdown lists are used to create a list of items from which you want a user to choose. You can either use a predefined list (such as State, Age, Days of the Week, etc.), create your own list from scratch, or use a previously created list that you've saved. Depending on your plan type, check out our Saved Lists article if you're on a Starter plan or our Smart List article if you're on a Team or higher tiered plan.
Getting Started
To add a Dropdown List field to your form, click on the "Dropdown List" field option and drag and drop it at the desired location on your form.
If you choose to add a Dropdown List field to your form, you will need to edit the label (i.e., the question/statement you want to show up on the form) and add your options. The image below shows a portion of the field editor for a Dropdown List that has been added to determine the days of the week an individual would like to volunteer:
Under "Field Options," you can choose to hide the field label or make the field required, hidden, or unique. If you make the field unique , once a form submitter chooses an option, that option is removed from the list until the submission is deleted from the submission table.
If you want to allow users to select multiple options in the Dropdown List, edit "Field Size" to display two or more rows. Then, when users are filling out the form, they will be able to select multiple options by holding Shift on their keyboard and clicking the options. If the form submitter will be selecting multiple options, you can also use the Checkbox field instead.
Adding Options
To add your list options, scroll down to the "Options" section in the field editor. Type each option on a separate line. If your list includes more than three options, click one of the plus signs to add additional lines. Options can be words or numbers. In the example below, the options are the available days that the Form submitter can choose from.
Please Note - It's also possible to create a list that can be used across all active forms by utilizing our Smart list feature. Once you've created a list, you'll have two choices: The first choice is to "Select Smart list to Copy" if you just want to only copy the options over. The second choice is the "Link to Smart List" option if you want to select a list that will be automatically updated whenever you make changes to the Smart list itself. For more information on how this feature works, including uploading, maintaining or building your first Smart List, check out this article.
Making it a Searchable Field
If you have an extensive list of options on your Dropdown List field, enabling this option will make it significantly easier on your Form takers . For instance, lets say you're building a Form for a University that's managing a comprehensive list of classes- there are many scenarios of where this could be used to create a better searching experience.
Note: This option is only available on the newest version of our Forms. For more information on upgrading to the newest version, please check out this article.
The searchable field option can be found under the advanced options editor on the left while your field is selected.
Important: There’s a limitation of 10,000 options that can be used in conjunction with a searchable dropdown field. 1000 options is the limit for non searchable dropdown fields.
How to enable:
How it looks on the Forms
Please Note: This feature can only be used to search for Labels (not Values if using separate values) & can only be used on single line drop downs, not multi-line.
Setting the first option as a placeholder
Right underneath the searchable field option, there's another toggle for setting the first option on your Dropdown list as a placeholder. If left unchecked, the field will be left blank.
Adding Separate Values
Sometimes, you'll want the label of what customers see to determine a price value or a record ID for an integration. Now, you can easily enter values on the right side of the options you enter with the Dropdown field. The person filling out the form only sees the option labels, not the values, as values are only used behind the scenes for calculations and third-party integrations. You can read more about separate values on our help page for Calculations. The option to use separate values is available through the Advanced Options Editor as described below.
Advanced Options Editor
You can find additional options for your Values by clicking the Advanced Options Editor button underneath your options. Here you can choose a Saved List, import via a CSV or TXT file, or choose what you would like to save to the Submission database in Formstack. Another option on the right is the ability to add seperate Values. Sometimes, you'll want the label of what customers see to determine a price value or a record ID for an integration. Now, you can easily enter values on the right side of the options you enter with the Dropdown field. The person filling out the form only sees the option labels, not the values, as values are only used behind the scenes for calculations and third-party integrations. You can read more about separate values on our help page for Calculations. The option to use separate values is available through the Advanced Options Editor as described below.
List Options
When you choose to have separate values, you can tell Formstack what information you would like saved to the Formstack Database, as well as what information is displayed in Notification and Confirmation Emails. You can choose to save the label, the value, or both.
Using Text or CSV Data to Import a List in the Advanced Options Editor
If you would like to import list options from a CSV or TXT file, you can do so via the Advanced Options Editor. From your Dropdown List field editor, click the "Advanced Options Editor" button. If you are importing labels and values, make sure the "Use Separate Values" option is selected as described above. Then, drag the appropriate CSV or TXT file onto the editor. When you see a green plus sign, drop your file.
If done correctly, the labels and values from your file should automatically populate the Options Editor when the file is dropped. Additionally, you will be given the option to use headers from your file.
If the file does not upload check to make sure that any values and labels are not duplicated if they are duplicated the upload will fail.
Note: For labels and values to import correctly, it's best to format your file with two columns that align with the "Labels" and "Values" columns in the Options Editor.
Inserting Blank and "Other" Options
If you would like the first option on the list to be a blank option so no option is selected by default, put in a space and hit enter for the first option on the list. When users visit your form, they will see a blank drop-down box under the question/statement label. They will have to click the arrows to view the list options and make a selection.
Note: If the field is required, a blank option will not validate as a filled-out field.
If you would like to include an "Other" option in your list, simply type "Other" on one of the option lines. If you want to allow users to type in a value for "Other," insert a Short Answer field and set Logic that brings up the field when "Other" is selected in the Dropdown List. For more information on how to do this, visit our help page on Conditional Logic.
If you would like your Short Answer field to appear as shown in the example below with no Label, you can hide this by editing the Short Answer field and under Field Options (left-edit bar), click the "Hide Label" option.
Setting a Default Value
If you'd like a specific option to be preselected when your customer first views your form, type that option exactly the same way in the "Default Value" area.
In the above example, Users will see a drop-down box that says "Friday" when they visit the form. They will need to click the arrows to see the other options.
Note: The value typed in the first option box will be preselected by default if no value is entered in the "Default Value" box, so you can also just type your desired default value as the first option in your list.